What is the European Union of 2006? What is it about the Europe of now that has enabled longstanding enmities to be subdued and replaced with collaboration and a communal perspective?

Is what we have created in the Europe of 2006 new? Or can we find patterns in long past developments in Europe that resonate in the situation of the Europe of today?

In our continents turbulent sea of history, can we find islands of calm, where dialogue, tolerance and a shared vision effectively overcame the significant and violent cultural divides of the time, and so left us with a lasting collective heritage? Do the perspectives of the past carry any relevant messages for the re-emergent cultural intolerances of today?

The theme of the 2007 conference “The Dialogue of Three Cultures and our European Heritage” and the location in Toledo, are absolutely central to all of these issues. Some may argue, that what we consider as our present day ‘common European culture and heritage’, has an origin earlier than the flowering of the Italian renaissance: that the renaissance had roots in an earlier era of dialogue, tolerance and cultural development that was prevalent in parts of the Al Andalus of the Iberia of the Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth centuries. Moreover, it may be no exaggeration to see Toledo as the crucible of the culture and the dawn of renaissance in Europe at that time.

Toledo and the work of the ‘School of Translators’, played a monumentally significant part in the creation of our European scientific heritage. Toledo as a centre of tolerance, was a magnet for leading European scholars of the time, who were able to work without the constraints of the political and cultural divisions of the day, and who were thus able to focus on the pursuit and transfer of knowledge of the significant advances made in the sciences, arts and humanities, medicine, culture, and technology of the wider Islamic world, diffusing these innovations out into a wider European culture.

Our conference in 2007, will seek to expose the most relevant scientific and cultural developments and perspectives of that period in history to a modern dialogue of cultures.

The main conference sessions will cover:

Sunday 2nd September – Music and Musical cultures Monday 3rd September – History & History of Science – Mathematics and Art Tuesday 4th September – Medicine, Pharmacology and practices – Astronomy Wednesday 5th September – ‘Land and water sciences’ & engineering – Literature

In addition, the following additional session will explore in more detail:

Historical context Toledo and Islamic scientific influence in Europe The Beginning in the Middle Ages, men seeking knowledge would travel to Spain to obtain Muslim science. This may be surprising since we tend to think of the Muslim world as being separated from Europe. But, there were many linkage between these two societies, one being trade and the other, more significantly education. Adelard of Bath, an Englishman in the 12th century, was the first major populariser of Muslim science in the West. He spent a long time in Muslim Spain learning both about Greek mathematics and science as well as Muslim contributions to science. In particular he introduced Euclid and aspects of astronomy to Western Europe. “As well as more technical treatises, he wrote Natural Questions – the selections here are from its preface and part of the body – which expresses his fundamental belief that God should not be invoked to explain what human knowledge can.” Adelard of Bath: The Impact of Muslim Science. Preface to His Very Difficult Natural Questions, [Dodi Ve-Nechdi] c.1137 from Medieval Sourcebook [ http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/adelardbath1.html] The key event for Medieval Europe came in 1085 when the great Muslim city of Toledo fell to Christian military forces. Toledo housed one of the largest libraries in the world at this time. And, this library was filled with thousands of books including Muslim translations of classic Greek philosophers. After the fall of Toledo, this city became the focus of a massive translation effort where teams of translators translated the Arabic texts into Latin. Often, this was not a one-step process. Jewish intellectuals frequently served as the translators–translating Arabic into Hebrew for themselves and then into Spanish for the Christians. But, because most of Europe spoke Latin, the works were then translated into Latin (often by priests or monks). One translator, Gerard of Cremona (1114-87) worked for forty years in Spain translating, with a team, over 70 books from Arabic originals including the works of Archimedes, Galen, Hippocrates, and Aristotle (McClellan & Dorn, 1999). In addition to Toledo, Arab work was found and translated in southern Italy and Sicily (reconquered by Norman knights in the 11th century). By 1200, Europe had recovered most of ancient science as well as appropriating several centuries of scientific, medical, and philosophical work done by Muslim scholars.

Full details and registration form at <http://www.acadeuro.org>| |INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT “The Dialogue of Three Cultures and our European Heritage” (Toledo Crucible of the Culture and the Dawn of the Renaissance) Toledo (Spain), September 2-5, 2007 Full details at <http://www.acadeuro.org> DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: 31 MAY 2007 What is the European Union of 2006? What is it about the Europe of now that has enabled longstanding enmities to be subdued and replaced with collaboration and a communal perspective? Is what we have created in the Europe of 2006 new? Or can we find patterns in long past developments in Europe that resonate in the situation of the Europe of today? In our continents turbulent sea of history, can we find islands of calm, where dialogue, tolerance and a shared vision effectively overcame the significant and violent cultural divides of the time, and so left us with a lasting collective heritage? Do the perspectives of the past carry any relevant messages for the re-emergent cultural intolerances of today? The theme of the 2007 conference “The Dialogue of Three Cultures and our European Heritage” and the location in Toledo, are absolutely central to all of these issues. Some may argue, that what we consider as our present day ‘common European culture and heritage’, has an origin earlier than the flowering of the Italian renaissance: that the renaissance had roots in an earlier era of dialogue, tolerance and cultural development that was prevalent in parts of the Al Andalus of the Iberia of the Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth centuries. Moreover, it may be no exaggeration to see Toledo as the crucible of the culture and the dawn of renaissance in Europe at that time. Toledo and the work of the ‘School of Translators’, played a monumentally significant part in the creation of our European scientific heritage. Toledo as a centre of tolerance, was a magnet for leading European scholars of the time, who were able to work without the constraints of the political and cultural divisions of the day, and who were thus able to focus on the pursuit and transfer of knowledge of the significant advances made in the sciences, arts and humanities, medicine, culture, and technology of the wider Islamic world, diffusing these innovations out into a wider European culture. Our conference in 2007, will seek to expose the most relevant scientific and cultural developments and perspectives of that period in history to a modern dialogue of cultures. The main conference sessions will cover: Sunday 2nd September – Music and Musical cultures Monday 3rd September – History & History of Science – Mathematics and Art Tuesday 4th September – Medicine, Pharmacology and practices – Astronomy Wednesday 5th September – ‘Land and water sciences’ & engineering – Literature In addition, the following additional session will explore in more detail: A. On 5th September a workshop on literature of the period and region Speakers include: B. McGuire (Roskilde, Denmark) Doris Abouseief (SOAS, London) J. Ma González (CSIC, Madrid) || |